Till the day I die
by The Best That I Could Do
Summary: Merlin convincing Arthur that he can fight at his side. In my mind, this is set at the final battle but with a few changes. 1) Merlin is there 2) Morgana doesn't know about Emrys (probably) 3) Alator is still alive These should all come into later chapters which I hope to write soon (hopefully longer than this) but the story isn't yet set in stone so is subject to change.
1. Calm before the Storm

"Merlin, what _are_ you doing?"

"What does it look like?" Merlin replied happily, looking up from his newly acquired sword. "I'm coming with you."

"Merlin, the battlefield is no place for a servant," Arthur sighed, running a hand through his already dishevelled hair, "especially one with swordsmanship as appalling as yours!"

Far from being discouraged, Merlin set about looking for any imperfections in his weapon's surface with a sly smile.

"If I'm not there, who else is going to save your royal backside?" he joked lightly, not taking his eyes off the sword.

"My knights!" Arthur shouted exasperatedly, throwing his hands up in the air in frustration and turning away while Merlin just smirked at his sword. Why did this idiot constantly insist on putting himself in unnecessary danger? And why did Arthur keep letting him?

Attempting (unsuccessfully) to drown out the little voice in the back of his head that insisted on pointing out how Merlin's steadfast determination to stand by his side – no matter the situation – was more than a little flattering, Arthur turned back to Merlin."You would just be getting in the way if you were there," He tried, searching for the right words to make Merlin understand. "Anyway, I can't spare any of my knights to babysit as you hide in the side lines. Not on a battlefield. Not in a war."

There was a soft sigh as Merlin finally lifted his eyes from the sword and met his friend's gaze with a small sad smile.

"Arthur," he began softly, taking a step towards his King "there is absolutely nothing that you could say to convince me to stay behind. My place is by your side and it's where I intend to stay. Till the day I die."

The utter seriousness and loyalty in his friends tone hit Arthur right at the core. There were times that Arthur forgot about this side of Merlin. The side that was normally masked by the clumsiness and idiocy that his servant was famous for. But there were times that this other Merlin surfaced. The man who had shown unfailing loyalty to Arthur since he had arrived in Camelot all those years ago. The man who stood unafraid by his side through many a lost cause. The man who gave people the strength and confidence they needed to go on, even when all seemed lost. When Arthur looked in his eyes, he felt no fear. Only a calm assurance that everything would be alright, as long as he had his manservant by his side. Of course, this moment of revelation was interrupted as a sly grin slid across Merlin's face.

"Anyway," he called over his shoulder as he abruptly turned and walked to where the knights were gathering, "I care a hell of a lot about that armour. I'm not going to let you mess it up!"

Laughing quietly to himself at the memory of those words, Arthur followed with a new spring in his step. He didn't know how he had done it, but Merlin seemed to have managed to lift the weight of the world off his shoulders.


	2. It is time then?

**Sorry this took so long, my Beta didn't have the willpower to go through my terrible grammar for a while.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin...Sadly **

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Merlin could feel the tension in the air. The knights were practically radiating it as they stood and waited for the scout to return with news on the whereabouts of Morgana's army. None of them seemed to know what to do with themselves. Last night they had drunk and laughed and sung to their hearts content, shouting their love of being alive to the world, and soon they would be fighting their enemy with every ounce of skill and strength they possessed. But it was the bit in between that had them pacing nervously in front of the tents.

The knights looked up hopefully as Merlin and Arthur approached their group but went back to their pacing when it became obvious that Arthur didn't come bearing news. Four of the group broke away, glad for any type of distraction.

"Any news, sire?" asked an ever hopeful Leon as they approached their friends.

"No news from the scouts, but we should join our army soon. Morgana's forces can't be far away." An audible sigh passed around the eavesdropping knights at this news. It's not that they liked war. In fact, they hated it. But anything was preferable to this waiting.

"Great!" Gwaine exclaimed happily, causing a few muffled snorts of laughter from the knights, "now all we have to do is work out how we are going to defeat an army of sorcerers without magic!" With that, the easing tension returned with a vengeance as everyone's eyes turned to their King.

"Don't exaggerate, Gwaine," Merlin cut in quickly, attempting to divert attention away from the clearly uncomfortable King. "It's not an army _full_ of sorcerers. There are probably only one or two, besides Morgana. And she will be the strongest, their leader. It's her hatred and conviction in her cause that fuels them. If we can take her out, show our strength, the others will surely flee." Arthur shot him a grateful look as the others nodded in agreement.

"But Gwaine's point still stands," Elyan commented thoughtfully, "How are we going to take out Morgana without using magic? She will kill us before we are a swords length away."

"Then we will have to get her before she has the chance," replied Arthur confidently as he launched into an explanation of the plan of attack that he and Merlin had been going over not 10 minutes before.

...

Merlin backed away, smiling slightly to himself, as the knights all gathered around to listen. Arthur would not miss him for a few minutes, and there was something that he needed to do.

Walking to the woods at the edge of the camp, shielded from view by one of the many tents, Merlin closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

He could feel the elemental magic of the earth wash over him as stood, waiting, watching the unseen magic of life through his eyelids as he searched for his quarry. Not five minutes had passed before he spotted what he had been looking for. A solid mass emerged from the midst of the dancing colour behind Merlin's eyes and started slowly towards him. The woman (for that is the closest comparison that could be made for such a creature) stopped about a metre in front of him and bowed her head respectfully at the young warlock.

_"You called for me, Emrys?"_ She asked softly, her voice ringing silently through his head.

_"Yes, __Erato, I did,"_ He projected his words gently towards the dryad, grateful for her presence, "_I need you to send out the call"._

_ "It is time then?" _She asked flatly, expressing no emotion at this news other than a slight raised eyebrow.

_"I believe so."_

_ "Then I will do as you ask," _Erato stated without hesitation and bowed once more as she turned to leave, "_For much more than just your King will be lost if you do not succeed today, young warlock."_

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**Please reveiw**


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